Tigerheart's Agony
by StarWars321
Summary: Set after The Last Hope...So we all know that Dovewing chose Bumblestripe. I really felt bad for Tigerheart. After loads of thinking about it, I got an idea. I should wright a fanfic about Tigerheart's feelings about that! Mostly in Tigerheart's point of view but the last two parragraphs are from Dovewing. Please R&R! Thanks! :)


The moment I saw Dovewing lay her head on Bumblestripe's shoulder, I knew she had chosen him over me. It was like my chest was ripped open thousands upon thousands of times over again. That wail of grief—that wail of pain was not exaggerated in any way, it was actually worse.

Of course, I can't blame Dovewing for her choice. After all, I had betrayed her by telling ShadowClan about Jayfeather's herbs in the abandoned twoleg nest. But Littlecloud was on his way to StarClan! I had no choice.

Right?

Maybe Dovewing could've forgiven me if my Clan hadn't taken her sister, Ivypool, into bondage. Maybe she wouldn't have. I was wrong for my choice, but I don't regret it. If it hadn't been for that, ShadowClan would be without a medicine cat, because my brother, Flametail, Littlecloud's apprentice, had died when he had fallen through ice that had once covered the lake.

Perhaps Flametail would've been more careful if Littlecloud had died, if I had not told my Clan about the catmint. Maybe he wouldn't have died, and Dovewing would still love me. And maybe—just maybe, I would've left ShadowClan to join ThunderClan to be with her if she had forgiven me truly.

Time and time after I had asked her to meet with me and she had refused, I had felt regret. The only thing that could comfort me was seeing Littlecloud, alive and healthy. That was because of me.

But I still wanted Dovewing, her by my side, never having to betray our Clans just so we could be together. I _loved_ her and I would do anything to protect her. I kept asking and asking her to meet with me again and in the end she agreed. That meant she still cared about me too! But at the meetings, I knew she wasn't the same. It was like she didn't know how to act around me anymore. I just wanted her to be happy, but I didn't think that it would cause my happiness to disappear completely.

I knew Bumblestripe liked her. I could tell from the way he had stared at her at the gatherings. She was friendly to him but I didn't actually think she liked him more than a friend. I was so _stupid_! How could I not notice?

Maybe I was too hopeful that she would still love me that I couldn't see her love. I wonder if she even knew at the time she really cared about him. I wonder if she had just realized it in the battle against the Dark Forest.

_I _was training in the Dark Forest. She knew that, so is that one reason she thought she couldn't trust me? Or did she just like Bumblestripe over me? That question will remain unanswered because I know I'll never have the nerve to ask her.

At first, I was broken. Kind of like Dawnpelt was when our brother died. I even considered killing myself but I knew that it would bring blameful feelings on Dovewing in her heart, and Dawnpelt would go crazy. My mother, Tawnypelt, would be horrified as well as my father, Rowanclaw. It would just be selfish of me to do that.

In addition to that, I had a duty to do for my Clan. But that didn't stop my tail from drooping. It didn't stop me from just picking at my fresh-kill. It didn't stop me from loving Dovewing.

Applefur had tried to comfort me, thinking I was just scarred by all the bloodshed I had seen in the battle against the Dark Forest. I couldn't have been too bothered by that. After all, I did visit the Dark Forest for training every night. I was thankful for her attempts to cheer me up, but nothing could heal my broken heart. _Nothing._

I think Applefur might have even cared for me more than a friend, but I could never give her my heart. Dovewing was still there….

I had hoped she would remember me as more than a friend, but when she told me about the kits, I knew it was over.

{The scene where Dovewing tells Tigerheart the truth about kits…}

Tigerheart watched from a distance as Dovewing made her way through the crowd of the gathering. She settled down beside Bumblestripe. Tigerheart pricked his ears as he edged a little closer.

"How are you, my dear?" Bumblestripe licked Dovewing's ear.

A purr rumbled in her throat. "Fine, thanks," she said.

"I hope Bramblestar challenges ShadowClan for trespassing," Bumblestripe commented. "They've done that too many times."

Tigerheart felt his fur prickle in anger. _ShadowClan hasn't trespassed, fox-dung!_ He forced his fur to lay flat. This was a gathering and he couldn't go stirring up trouble with other Clans—especially when he had eavesdropped.

"Hey Bumblestripe!" Tigerheart recognized Bumblestripe's sister, Blossomfall calling him. "Come meet Petalfur and Mallownose."

Bumblestripe turned to Dovewing as if asking for permission. "Go you stupid tom," she nudged him affectionately.

Bumblestripe's eyes gleamed and he bounded off toward his sister and the two RiverClan cats.

_This is my chance,_ Tigerheart thought. _It's now or never._ He tried to pad confidently to the gray she-cat but he felt as if every cat was watching him. He turned his head from one side to another, but no one was paying the slightest attention to him. He took a deep breath and sat beside the she-cat.

Dovewing looked slightly startled, but her eyes soon hardened. "Hello, Tigerheart," she said. There was no hint of their previous adventures, where they laughed and played together. There was just plain old coldness.

"Hi, Dovewing," Tigerheart said, trying to sound cheerful. "Nice day we're having, huh?"

Dovewing's eyes cracked with amusement for a moment. It had been raining for nearly a quarter-moon. The clouds had just cleared up in time for the gathering, but it was still chilly.

Tigerheart realized that Dovewing was shaking, not because she was scared, but because she was shivering. He resisted the urge to press his pelt to her's.

"Okay, Tigerheart," Dovewing said suddenly with a slight edge of annoyance. "I know you didn't just come here to tell me about the weather. What do you want?"

Tigerheart tried not to feel hurt at these words. "This is a gathering. We're allowed to be friends, right?" Dovewing looked away. "Look Dovewing, I've tried everything I could think of to make you understand that I'm sorry. Why can't you see that I am?"

Dovewing looked taken aback. "Tigerheart," she said softly. "It's not that I don't know that. It's just that I love Bumblestripe. I can't be with you anyway. You're in ShadowClan, I'm in ThunderClan. It just wouldn't work out."

"Then I could come to ThunderClan!" But Dovewing was already shaking her head. "Why not?" Hurt was filling his heart up so quickly that his words were choked.

Dovewing's eyes glistened. He could see sadness, grief, and was that love? Did she still love him? If she did, then why didn't she want to be with him? "Tigerheart, I'm expecting kits."

"What?" Tigerheart took a step back.

"I'm expecting kits," she repeated.

"But—But I love you. You can't be!" Tigerheart hissed, not in anger, but with overwhelming pain. It was as if his heart had been ripped open.

"I'm sorry Tigerheart." Dovewing looked at her paws.

The tabby tom knew the talk was over. Done. He had waited too long. He backed up and ran to the outside bushes of the gathering, ignoring the stares that followed him.

Dovewing lifted her head up, looking after him. She could feel an ache in her heart. Tigerheart still loved her. She knew that deep within her, she still had feelings for him. She shouldn't have told him. She had probably destroyed his life just then.

"If I had told you," she said softly so that no one else could hear her. "the truth, you wouldn't have given up on me, Tigerheart. It was for our own good so that no one else would be hurt. But I'm telling you now, even though you can't hear me, that Bumblestripe isn't the father."

**Short, I know and another one-shot. I just felt the sudden urge to wright it though! I love TigerheartxDovewing. This is also kinda a spoiler to those of you reading Falling Stars (a Warriors book I am working on). So use it wisely! ;) And if you hate it, leave a review, if you love it, leave a review, so basically, just R&R! It only takes a few seconds! Thanks!**


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